Tag: John Tenta

Report: Natural Disasters to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

Posted on by Josh Nason

Notable 1990s tag team The Natural Disasters will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, according to WrestleVotes.

Made up of the late Earthquake (John Tenta) and the 68-year-old Typhoon (Fred Ottman/Tugboat), the two held the then-WWF World Tag Team titles in 1992, winning them from Money Inc.’s Ted DiBiase & IRS, defending them against the Beverly Brothers once, and then losing them back to Money Inc. three months later.

The two teamed for roughly 19 months from May 1991 through December 1992. Following their split, Earthquake went back to singles action and eventually became Golga in The Oddities before departing in the spring of 2001. Typhoon also went back to singles competition until his WWE run ended in August 1994. He retired in 2009.

Once confirmed, they will join Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Michelle McCool as the inductees announced thus far.

The ceremony will take place during WrestleMania 41 weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pacific Rim: Fumi’s trip to WrestleMania, more Rossy Ogawa & Marigold thoughts

Posted on by Jim Valley

Yes, the Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling Podcast still exists.

Longtime wrestling journalist Fumi Saito and I discuss his trip to Philadelphia last month to see Bull Nakano inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He talks about how it happened, his thoughts on the ceremony, and WrestleMania 40 itself. (You might recognize him and a famous wrestler in the picture above).

From there, we talk about Rossy Ogawa, Stardom and Rossy’s new Marigold situation.

Other topics include this year’s Hana Kimura Memorial Show, Fumi’s interview with Giulia, his appearance on the John Tenta episode of Dark Side of the Ring, and much more.

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

Fight Game: Can Will Ospreay become the biggest star in wrestling?

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and I are back with another episode of The Fight Game Podcast.

We kicked off the show talking about what’s going on in the world of main roster WWE.

We then got to our Top 5 which included:

  • Will Ospreay and his outlook for 2024
  • The way AEW brought in Kazuchika Okada and whether it was good enough for his quality of star
  • The upcoming AEW Tag Team title tournament
  • The Dark Side of the Ring season debut episode on John “Earthquake” Tenta
  • The latest in NXT

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

Dark Side of the Ring reveals season five premiere episode

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Dark Side of the Ring has revealed which episode will be opening the show’s fifth season.

Season five of Dark Side of the Ring will premiere with an episode focused on John “Earthquake” Tenta. It’s set to air on Vice TV at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, March 5.

Tenta, a former sumo wrestler, worked in Japan, WWF, and WCW during his career. He was one of Hulk Hogan’s most memorable opponents of the 1990s. 

Tenta died of cancer in 2006. He was 42 years old.

Dark Side of the Ring wrote:

Season 5 will kick-off with John ‘Earthquake’ Tenta’s story.

A larger-than-life heel in the ring and a die hard family man at home, Tenta’s passing at just 42 years old was an especially cruel ending for a man so universally beloved.

Tuesday, March 5 at 10pm ET on @vicetv

.The episode is titled “The Ballad of ‘Earthquake’ John Tenta.” The synopsis for it can be read below:

John Tenta couldn’t be further from the monstrous Earthquake character WWF fans loved to hate; as his career faded, a health battle threatened to take him from the family he loved.

Season five of Dark Side of the Ring will also have episodes focusing on Chris Adams, Sensational Sherri, Terry Gordy, Black Saturday (Vince McMahon purchasing Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1984 for access to its TBS time slot), Chris Colt, The Sandman, Harley Race, Buff Bagwell, and Brutus Beefcake.

June 21, 2006 Observer Newsletter: John Tenta obituary

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Within pro wrestling, there are far too many stories of overindulgent behavior leading to early deaths. But it’s even more tragic when a young man with a loving family is simply dealt a bad hand that he can’t overcome. Worse, we often like to take solace in the case of deaths by saying that at least the man didn’t suffer. And in this case, there is no solace.

John “Earthquake” Tenta battled cancer bravely for the past few years, and with nothing but complete dignity. He regularly posted updates on the Wrestlecrap forum of his friend, Randy Baer (aka R.D. Reynolds). Every message was about a fight that he was bound and determined to win. He was winning early, and by his words and spirits, at first, you couldn’t envision him losing. He came back after being handed the first verdict by his doctors of a probable death sentence two years ago. In 2004, he was first diagnosed with bladder cancer. After chemotherapy, he got the good news that he was winning the fight and the cancer was barely a dot.

Subscribers can read this issue here.

DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Earthquake/John Tenta biography

Posted on by Karl Stern

This is a free show. Just click below to listen.

John Tenta (aka WWF’s Earthquake, WCW’s Avalanche and Shark) wrestled at LSU and then became a sumo competitor where he was a standout Westerner.

But, he soon became disgruntled and switched to pro wrestling, first in Japan and then in the U.S., becoming a star in WWF as an opponent for Hulk Hogan, as well as a Tag Team champion. He had multiple stints in Japan and in WCW as well. 

He passed away in 2006 at just 42 years old due to bladder cancer.

This is the story of Earthquake.

Click Here To Listen